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I heard one of the local sportswriters say that we could throw out the Chicago Bulls inconsistent regular season play heading into the playoffs. I’m disappointed that I can’t remember who said this because through two games he’s right on.

The Chicago Bulls went into Boston and took the first two games in their playoff series against the Celtics as last night they won Game 2 by 14 points 111-97.

The Celtics scored the first seven points of the game before the Bulls came back to take their first lead of the game at 11-10. Chicago then went on a 9 to 1 run to take a 20-11 lead. After Boston broke the Bulls run Chicago was able to build it’s biggest lead of the quarter at 27-15 with 3:04 left to play. Boston was able to cut into the Bulls lead in those final three minutes as they scored nine of the quarters final 13 points. After one quarter the Bulls had a 31-26 lead.

With an 8 to 2 run to start the 2nd quarter the Celtics where able to regain the lead at 34-33 early in the quarter. There was a quick trade off of the lead between the teams before the Bulls went back to the lead and where able to build their lead back to double digits. Chicago had a 50-39 lead with 3:36 left in the quarter. The Celtics where again able to cut into the Bulls lead heading towards the end of a quarter, but this time Boston could only get the lead down to eight points as the Bulls went into halftime with a 54-46 lead.

Boston again got off to a quick start in the 3rd quarter as they scored nine of the quarters 13 points and cut the Bulls lead to three points at 58-55 with 9:30 left in the quarter. After a couple of free throws by Isaiah Thomas the Celtics had the Chicago lead down to two points at 62-60 with 7:26 left in the quarter. Then it was the Bulls turn to make a run. Chicago went on a 19 to 5 run to build a 14 point lead at 79-65 with 3:49 left to play. This time Boston was only able to knock two points off of the Bulls lead as Chicago took an 11 point lead 86-75 into the final quarter.

The closest the Celtics could get in the 4th quarter was seven points at 89-82 with 9:00 minutes left in the game. When Dwayne Wade hit a 3-pointer with 6:52 left in the game the Bulls had pushed their lead into double digits at 98-86. The Celtics where never able to cut the Bulls lead to under 10 points the remainder of the game and at one point the Bulls pushed their lead to 17 points at 109-92 with just 1:35 left to play. Boston added five points to the Bulls two points, but it was too late as the Bulls took Game 2 by a final score of 111-97.

The Bulls had six players score in double figures as all five of their starters and one bench player reached that point plateau. Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade each scored a game high 22 points for Chicago. Robin Lopez scored 18 points while Nikola Mirotic added 13 points. Rajon Rondo scored 11 points while handing out a game high 14 assists and grabbing a team high 9 rebounds. Paul Zipser came off the bench to score 16 points for the Bulls.

Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics in scoring with 20 points. Jae Crowder added 16 points while Avery Bradley scored 12 points. Marcus Smart came off the bench to score 13 points. Kelly Olynyk also reached double digits off the Celtics bench scoring 11 points/ Olynyk also handed out a team high 7 assists. Al Horford grabbed a game high 11 rebounds in the game.

The win gives the Bulls a 2-0 lead in the series. The teams will get two days off as the series shifts to Chicago for Friday nights Game 3.

The Chicago Bulls pulled off the upset in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series against the Boston Celtics. There where some Chicago like traits that came out of the Bulls at the end of the game, but the Celtics where never able to tie or take the lead and the Bulls hit their free throws down the stretch to take Game 1 by four points 106-102.

There where a couple of ties early in the 1st quarter the last one being at 6 all with 9:27 left in the quarter. The Celtics then scored the next sox points to take a 12-6 lead. The Celtics had the lead for the rest of the 1st quarter, but that six point lead was the biggest one they had. Bobby Portis hit a jumper for the Bulls to cut Boston’s lead to two points at 25-23, but the Celtics scored the final basket of the quarter (a 3-pointer) to take a 28-23 lead after one quarter.

The Bulls came out and scored the first ten points of the 2nd quarter to take a 33-28 lead. The Celtics came back and tied the game at 33 all. There where three more ties between the team before Dwayne Wade hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulls some space at 44-41. Chicago pushed their lead to five points, but the Celtics came back and when Al Horford hit a 3-pointer as the 2nd quarter expired it cut the Bulls lead to two points 48-46 headed into halftime.

The Celtics got off to the quick 3rd quarter start scoring five of the quarters first seven points and taking a 51-50 lead with 10:40 left in the quarter. There where three ties and three lead changes between the teams before Boston was able to establish a five point lead 69-64 with 2:54 left in the quarter. The Bulls scored the next five points to tie the game at 69 all. The teams traded baskets with Jimmy Butler hitting a 3-pointer for the Bulls with :04 seconds left in the quarter to make it a 74 all game after three quarters of play.

The Bulls took a quick three point lead, but Boston came right back to tie the game at 78 all. The Bulls went right back to the lead and built a five point lead on two occasions only to have the Celtics come right back and tie the game at 87 all with 5:33 left to play. The teams traded the lead before the Bulls where able to push the lead to nine points. The Bulls had a 103-94 lead with just :47 seconds left to play and it looked like they’d easily pick up a Game 1 win, but not so fast. Boston went on an 8 to 1 run and had cut the Bulls lead to just two points with :07 seconds left in the game. Jimmy Butler was able to knock down two free throws with :03 seconds left to give the Bulls a 106-102 Game 1 win.

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls in scoring with 30 points. Robin Lopez added 14 points and grabbed a game high 11 rebounds. Dwayne Wade scored 12 points and Rajon Rondo added 11 points. Both Wade and Rondo handed out 6 assists to lead the team. Bobby Portis came off the Bulls bench to score 19 points.

Only three Celtics scored in double figures led by Isaiah Thomas who had a game high 33 points. Al Horford had 19 points and handed out a game high 8 assists while Avery Bradley added 14 points. Jae Crowder did grab a team high 9 rebounds.

The win gives the Bulls a 1-0 lead in the series. Monday is an off day with Game 2 being scheduled for Tuesday night in Boston. It’s a 7:00 p.m. c.s.t start time and it will be televised on TNT.

Are you ready for about to month of NBA playoffs action? The 1st round of the playoffs tips off this afternoon with four games in total. We start with the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers hosting the Indiana Pacers. Then will get the Milwaukee Bucks at the Toronto Raptors. Game three has the Memphis Grizzlies at the San Antonio Spurs and we wrap up with the Utah Jazz at the Los Angeles Clippers. The first game is on ABC while the other three are all on ESPN.

The other four series get started on Sunday starting with the Atlanta Hawks at the Washington Wizards. The second game features the Portland Trailblazers at the Golden State Warriors. That’s followed by the Chicago Bulls at the Boston Celtics and the night wraps up with Oklahoma City Thunder at the Houston Rockets. The 1st, 3rd and 4th game will be on TNT while ABC is carrying the 2nd game.

Now Golden State comes into the playoffs with the best regular season record, again and they’ve looked like the best team down the stretch. Is there a Western Conference team that could knock them off or are the going to be making another trip to the NBA Finals. Now San Antonio had the second best regular season record in the NBA and they’re always a threat to get to the finals, but as of late they’ve had their struggles in the early rounds of the playoffs. The Spurs do have the best coach in the NBA in Greg Popovich and Kawhi Leonard is one of the best players in the league, but is there enough behind Leonard to get to the finals? The Rockets are an interesting case. They’ve embraced the new style of NBA play and they’ll shoot a 3-pointer from just about anywhere on the court. Now if they’re making these shots they’re a threat to any team in the league, but if they’re off then it’s a different story. Can Houston stay hot enough in a seven game series to get themselves into the finals. They do have an M.V.P. candidate in James Harden and Harden did average just under 30 points per game. The Clippers and the Jazz ended the regular season with the same record 51-31 and will meet in the 1st round. The Clippers still have those names you know; Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, but they haven’t been able to put it together yet; so why would this season be different? Los Angeles does come into the playoffs on a seven game winning streak and are 8-2 over their last 10 games. Utah is a young team making their first trip to the playoffs in a few seasons; so I’m not sure that they’d be a threat of they got out of the 1st round. Gordon Hayward can score and Rudy Gobert does average a double-double, but it appears they’re a ways away from being a title contender. If Russell Westbrook can get some help Oklahoma City could be an interesting 6th seed. The Thunder have a tough 1st round match up against Houston, but if they get past the Rockets it could get Westbrook rolling. Now I fully expect Memphis to win a game or even two in their 1st round series against San Antonio, but even if they did get out of that series I don’t think they’re a threat to the Warriors. The Trailblazers grabbed the final Western Conference playoff spot which got them a 1st round date with Golden State. Damien Lillard kind of jokingly said that Portland would win this series in six games, but I don’t think anyone really believes that will happen.

Now even though the Cavaliers are coming into the playoffs as the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference they’re still the favorite to advance to the NBA Finals. Now Cleveland has shown some vulnerability this season, but is there a team that could knock them off in a seven game series? LeBron James has said that the Cavaliers have a secret weapon to get back to the finals, but a lot of the experts are wondering if Cleveland will be able to flip the switch now that it’s playoff time. The Celtics are actually the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but everyone seems to have their doubts in them because their best player is a point guard. I’m sure if you’ve listen to any playoff preview you’ve heard them mention that Isaiah Thomas is 5’9. What they’ve been leaving out is that Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game and has been the best player in the NBA hen the 4th quarter rolls around. Thomas may not be the question when it comes to the Celtics, but is Boston’s supporting cast good enough to get this team to the finals. Toronto ended up with the same record (51-31) in the regular season as the Cavaliers and they seem to be the team that the experts think could get past Cleveland this season. Kyle Lowry should be healthy for the playoffs and Toronto has two quality big men in Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka and DeMar DeRozen can score, but the Raptors have had their issues in the playoffs before and they may have to get past those demons first. While the experts like Toronto to knock the Cavaliers out of the playoffs if I had to chose one Eastern Conference team to do that it would be the Wizards. John Wall and Bradley Beal both average 23.1 points per game and may be the best backcourt in the NBA. Wall also hands out an average of  10.7 assists per game. The Wizards have some tough big men who aren’t afraid to mix it up and Otto Porter Jr. is one of the better 3-point shooters in the NBA. The Wizards can play a little out of control, but if they keep their composure they can be a real threat in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks where said to be selling off their pieces early in the season when they dealt Kyle Korver to Cleveland. I guess the sale didn’t go as planned as Atlanta ended up with the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. Dwight Howard can still rebound and block shots, but you have to wonder if the Hawks can score enough to be a playoff threat. The Bucks are young and athletic and Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the breakout star of the season, but the playoffs seem to be a learning experience and Milwaukee hasn’t made enough trips into the playoffs to gain that experience. Now the Bucks will scare any team it matches up with and it may even pull off an upset, but they’d be in a better position of Jabri Parker was playing. The Pacers ended up with the 7th seed and drew the Cavaliers in the 1st round. Paul George is all the way back and is looking to make a statement as he heads into free agency. If George plays out of his mind don’t be shocked to see Indiana win a game or two in the 1st round, but I don’t think they’ll be the team upsetting the Cavaliers. The Bulls where handed the 8th seed when the Brooklyn Nets sat six players in the final game of the regular season, but will Chicago do anything with that gift. The Bulls can match up with the Celtics and Jimmy Butler may be the best player in the series. Chicago has played well against teams with winning records, but will that carry over into the playoffs and is it enough to predict a 1st round upset?

There you go. Will we see a third finals that features Cleveland and Golden State or is there a team out there that you like to crash the party? Let me know your team to watch and who you have winning it all in the comments.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com or you can get the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

It was the last game of the regular season and all the Chicago Bulls had to do was win and they’d get the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Their chances where greatly helped earlier in the day when the Brooklyn Nets announced they’d be sitting the top four scorers on the team and six players in total. With all those players taking the night off the Bulls easily beat the Nets 112-73.

The game was tied four times early in the 1st quarter the last time at 11 all with 5:18 left in the quarter. Brooklyn would manage to score just two more points in the quarter. Chicago finished the 1st quarter on a 16 to 2 run to take a 14 point lead 27-13 after one quarter.

The Nets never got closer than 12 points in the 2nd quarter and that was when they scored the first basket of the quarter. The Bulls slowly built their lead and when Rajon Rondo scored with 5:28 left in the quarter it gave the Bulls their first lead of 20 points or more at 43-22. Brooklyn did manage to get the Bulls lead back under 20 points by scoring the last basket in the quarter to make it a 50-32 game at halftime.

The 3rd quarter was the only quarter in the game where the Nets managed to score 20 or more points, but they where still outscored by the Bulls. Chicago outscored Brooklyn 24-24 in the 3rd quarter. The Nets again scored the last basket of the quarter to keep the Bulls lead under 20 points. After three quarter the Bulls led 75-56.

Teams have come back from being down 19 points in the 4th quarter before, but the short handed Nets didn’t have that type of a run in them. Brooklyn out up 17 points in the final quarter as the Bulls notched 37 points in the 4th quarter to easily cruise to the victory. The big 4th quarter for the Bulls almost gave them their second consecutive 40 plus point win in a row, but at the end of the game they had beaten the Nets by 39 points 112-73

Jimmy Butler was the games high scorer with 25 while Rajon Rondo added 10 points and a game high 5 assists. Paul Zipser came off the Bulls bench to score 21 points while Bobby Portis added 12 points and a game high 10 rebounds off the Chicago bench.

Brooklyn was led by Archie Goodwin who came off the bench to score 20 points. The only other Nets player to score in double figures was Caris LeVert with 10 points. Justin Hamilton led the Nets in rebounding with 9. Hamilton also tied with LeVert to lead the team in assists with 4 each.

The win actually got back to .500 with the win as they finished 41-41 on the season. The win also gives the Bulls the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bulls will open the 1st round of the playoffs on Sunday against the #1 seeded Boston Celtics. It’s a scheduled 5:30 c.s.t. start on Sunday and the game will be televised on TNT. With the loss the Nets finish with the worst record in the NBA this season at 20-62.

It was another match up for the Chicago Bulls against a team that was under .500 and even though the Bulls lost to the Orlando Magic 98-91 the last time these two teams met on March 8th. This win was never really in doubt as the Bulls coasted to a 47 point 122-75 victory.

Aaron Gordon hit the first basket of the game to give Orlando a 2-0 lead and that was pretty much the bright side for the Magic. Believe it or not Orlando never led in the game again. The Bulls scored 12 straight points and 18 of the games next 20 points to take a 18-4 lead with 6:05 left in the quarter. The Magic managed just 13 points in the 1st quarter as the Bulls built what turned out to be an insurmountable 21 point lead 34-13 after just one quarter.

While Orlando did have a better offensive 2nd quarter scoring 24 points they where unable to match the Bulls who put up 30 points in the quarter. Orlando only managed to cut the Bulls lead to under 20 points one time in the 2nd quarter and it was very early on in the quarter. The Bulls where able to add six points to their lead as they went into halftime with a 64-37 advantage.

The 3rd quarter was another solid if not spectacular offensive output for the Magic. Orlando scored 22 points in the 3rd quarter and while that’s a decent number they Bulls scored 28 points to build on their lead. This was the only quarter in the game where the Bulls didn’t reach 30 points. Not a whole lot of drama left as the Bulls where able to push their lead up over 30 points. By the end of the 3rd quarter the Bulls had a 33 point lead 92-59.

The Magic didn’t do themselves any favors in the 4th quarter as their offense struggled again managing to score just 16 points. The big question for the Bulls would be if they would give their starters the quarter off and try to get them some rest. Chicago is tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but a lead like this gives them the chance to get their starters a quarter of rest before the final game of the regular season. While Dwayne Wade did play early in the quarter the rest of the Bulls starters where on the bench. Even with the starters sitting the Bulls added 14 points to their lead and easily cruised to a 122-75 win.

Robin Lopez was the games high scorer with 18 points. Lopez also led the Bulls in rebounding with 8. Jimmy Butler and Jerian Grant each had 17 points while Grant also handed out a game high 11 assists. Nikola Mirotic scored 16 points while Dwayne Wade added 13 points as all of the Bulls starters score in double figures. Off the Bulls bench Bobby Portis added 10 points.

Believe it or not the 75 points scored by the Magic wasn’t their lowest offensive output this season. Back in November they scored 69 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers.Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier each had 14 points to lead the Magic. Vucevic also grabbed a game high 10 rebounds. Elfrid Payton scored 11 points and handed out a team high 4 assists while Aaron Gordon added 10 points.

Chicago improves to 40-41 with the win. If the Bulls win their final regular season game Wednesday night at home against the 20-61 Brooklyn Nets they’ll be a playoff team. It looks as though the Bulls would be the 8th seed, but there is a chance they could move up to the 7th spot. Don’t forget that the Nets just beat the Bulls (107-106) in there last meeting on Saturday night. Orlando falls to 28-53 with the loss. The Magic will also wrap up their regular season on Wednesday night as they host the 37-44 Detroit Pistons.

With an eight point lead and just under six minutes to play it looked as though the Chicago Bulls where going to escape with a win over a sub .500 team. Which is still the biggest issue this team has had all season. The Brooklyn Nets had other ideas as they came back on the Bulls to pull out a 107-106 win Saturday afternoon at the Barclays Center.

Brooklyn scored six of the games first eight points before the Bulls came back to tie it at six all. The Nets went on a 19 to 4 run to build a lead of 15 points with 3:31 left in the quarter. It took the Bulls to the very end of the quarter to cut the Nets lead to under ten points. Chicago needed two Jimmy Butler 3-pointers sandwiched around a Brooklyn basket in the final :29 seconds to cut the Nets lead to seven points 32-25 after one quarter.

The 2nd quarter didn’t feature much offense as the teams combined to score 39 points with the Bulls outscoring the Nets 20-19. The Nets took a 14 point lead with 10:37 left to play in the quarter, but the Bulls managed to work that lead down to just three points with 6:24 left in the quarter. The Bulls where never able to tie the game or take the lead in the 2nd quarter and the Nets where able to push their lead back to six points 51-45 going into halftime.

Brooklyn pushed it’s lead to nine points early in the 3rd quarter at 55-46, but Chicago scored the games next nine point and tied the game 55 all with 7:35 left in the quarter. There where four ties before the Bulls could take the lead for good in the quarter at 66-65 with 4:54 left to play. Chicago built it’s lead to nine points, but the Nets got the final bucket of the quarter to make it a seven point game 82-75 heading into the 4th quarter.

Brooklyn cut the Bulls lead to four points very early in the 4th quarter, but Chicago held then off and built the lead back to seven points. Chicago managed to keep their lead right around that seven or eight point range and with a 97-88 lead with 4:24 left in the game it looked like the Bulls would end up with a win. Brooklyn scored the next 10 points to change that as they took a 98-97 lead with 2:21 left to play. Chicago took the lead back and pushed it to three points, but a Nets 3-pointer tied the game at 101 all. The teams traded baskets before Brooklyn was able to take a bit of control and take a four point lead at 107-103. A Jimmy Butler 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded made it a 107-106 game.

On a side note Butler was the only Bulls player to score in the final 4;24 of the game.

Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie (off the bench) tie for the Nets top scoring honors with 19 points apiece. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson posted a double-double with 16 points and a game high 12 rebounds. Brook Lopez scored 13 points while Jeremy Lin added 12 points and handed out a game high 7 assists.

Jimmy Butler was the games top scorer with 33 points. Robin Lopez had 16 points and a team high 8 rebounds. Jerian Grant added 15 points and handed out a team high 5 assists while the returning Dwayne Wade scored 14 points in 25 minutes of game action.

The win was Brooklyn’s 20th making them 20-60 on the season. The Nets get a day off before they travel to Boston to face the 50-29 Celtics on Monday night. The Bulls drop to 39-41 with the loss. Chicago will also get a day off as they return home to face the 28-51 Orlando on Magic Monday night.

If you’re a Chicago Bulls fans you know that Thursday nights game are the type of games that have been giving the Bulls trouble all season. For some reason the Bulls struggle against teams under .500 and on Tuesday night they where beaten easily by the sub-.500 New York Knicks and in their last game against the Philadelphia 76ers the 76ers won easily 117-107. This time none of those Bulls issues came up as they look to lock down an Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 102-90 win over Philadelphia.

There where a couple of ties early in the 1sy quarter before the Bulls where able to take a bit of a lead. Chicago built a five point lead on two occasions , but Philadelphia was able to come back and cut the lead to one point with 5:03 left in the quarter. An 8 to 3 run pushed the Bulls lead to six points, but again the 76ers fought back cutting the lead to two points with 2:34 left in the quarter. Philadelphia didn’t score the rest of the 1st quarter as the Bulls finished on an 8 to 0 run to take a 27-17 lead after one quarter.

The teams traded baskets early in the 2nd quarter, but the Bulls did manage to add four points to their lead and with 8:11 left in the quarter Chicago was ahead 40-26. Philadelphia went on a 17 to 7 run to cut the Bulls lead to four points 47-43 with 2:49 left in the quarter. The Bulls did manage to add a couple of points to their lead before halftime as they went into the locker room with a 53-47 lead.

The Bulls really established their lead in the 3rd quarter. Right from the start the Bulls scored 7 of the first 10 points to push the lead into double digits at 60-50 with 10:27 left in the quarter. Philadelphia was only able to knock the lead under double digits three times in the quarter and the Bulls led at one time by 16 points. At the end of the quarter Chicago added seven points to it’s halftime lead as they took a 13 point lead 80-67 heading into the final quarter.

Philadelphia was never able to get closer than 10 points. With 7:52 left in the game Chicago was ahead 84-74, but the 76ers where never able to get the lead under double digits and even though they did outscored the Bulls in the final quarter (23-22) it didn’t make enough of a difference as Chicago was able to cruise to a 102-90 victory.

Nikola Mirotic led all scorers with 22 points for the Bulls while Jimmy Butler posted a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Butler assists total was a game high. Jerain Grant scored 15 points while Joffrey Lauvergne added 14 points off the bench. Bobby Portis also came off the Bulls bench to post a double-double with 12 points and a game high 11 rebounds.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was the 76ers leading scorer with 18 points. Justin Anderson added 17 points while Richaun Holmes added 10 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with 10. Nik Stauskas added 13 points off of the 76ers bench. T.J. McConnell led the 76ers in assists with 8 assists while Dario Saric tied for the team lead in rebounds with 10.

With the win the Bulls improve to 39-40 on the season and they are still holding onto 7th place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago gets a day off before they face the team with the worst record in the NBA; the 19-60 Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. Philadelphia falls to 28-51 with the loss. The 76ers also get a day off before they host the 40-39 Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night.

The Chicago Bulls four game winning streak came to a screeching halt last night in a manner you’d expect as they dropped a 100-91 decision to the New York Knicks. If you’ve spent any time watching the Bulls this season this is exactly the type of game they have lost. The Knicks have been eliminated from the eastern Conference playoffs race and where 19 games under .500 coming into this game. Add all that up and they had no trouble at all ending the Bulls winning streak.

The 1st quarter was played pretty evenly as there where six ties between the two teams in the quarter. The biggest lead either team had in the quarter was five points. New York had two five point leads in the quarter at 19-14 and the other at the end of the 1st quarter at 29-24. The biggest lead the Bulls could build in the quarter was four points and that was very early in the game when they where ahead 8-4.

The Knicks immediately built their lead to 17 points in the 2nd quarter. New York went on a 15 to 3 run to start the quarter and take a 44-27 lead. Shortly after their run the Knicks lead reached 20 points at 49-29 with 3:42 left to play. The Bulls spent the rest of the quarter trying to cut into the Knicks lead. The Bulls did knock six points off of the New York lead as they went in at halftime down 14 points 54-40.

The quarter started off pretty even with the Knicks holding their 14 point lead at 60-46 with 8:06 left in the quarter. The Knicks then scored the next nine points in the game and took a 23 point lead at 69-46 with 6:03 left to play. The Knicks where able to keep their lead at 20 points 76-56 with 2:14 left in the quarter. Chicago finished the quarter on a 8 to 4 run to get the Knicks lead down to 16 points at 80-64.

With the outcome of the game pretty much determined the Bulls had their best offensive quarter of the game scoring 27 points. It was the only quarter in this game where the Bulls actually outscored the Knicks. New York scored 20 points in the 4th quarter. The closest the Bulls got was with :07 seconds left in the game at 98-91, but the Knicks scored the final two points of the game to get it to it’s final of 100-91.

Carmelo Anthony was the Knicks leading scorer with 23 points. Courtney Lee had 14 points while Maurice Ndour added 13 points and tied for the game high in rebounds with 12. Coming off the Knicks bench Justin Holiday scored 12 points while Mindaugas Kuzminskas added 11 points. Kyle O’Quinn also grabbed 12 rebounds to tie Ndour for the game lead in rebounds.

Jimmy Butler was the games high scorer with 26 points. Nikola Mirotic added 21 points and grabbed a team high 10 rebounds. Robin Lopez added 11 points and Anthony Morrow came off the Bulls bench to contribute 15 points. Rajon Rondo handed out a game high 9 assists for the Bulls.

Chicago drops to 38-40 with the loss, but they are still holding onto 7th place in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls get a day off before they head to Philadelphia to face the 28-50 76ers on Thursday night. The win makes the Knicks 30-48 on the season. New York also gets a day off before they host the 47-31 Washington Wizards Thursday night.